Nadia Knows Best (35 page)

“There's your envelope, by the way.” Holding Daniel in the crook of her arm, Nadia nodded at the envelope she'd dropped onto the table.

“Oh right, thanks.” Jay paused. “Did you look inside?”

“No!” Nadia hoped he wouldn't start dusting for fingerprints.

“OK.”

Flushing slightly, she said, “I couldn't help noticing the For Sale sign, though. What's going on?”

Jay shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. “I've put the house on the market. Changed my mind about staying in Bristol.”

“What's wrong with Bristol?”

“Just got bored, I suppose. It's not that fantastic.”

Stung, Nadia blurted out, “So you're moving to
Manchester
?”

Oh bum. She saw the glint of triumph in Jay's brown eyes.

“X-ray vision, I presume.”

“Oh shut up.” Crossly, she faced him across the room. “I don't call this very fair. You're employing me. So what are you saying, that I'm out of a job?”

“Not at all.” Jay shook his head. “I spoke to the chap I outbid at the auction, and he's going to be buying Highcliffe House from me. I made him promise he'd take you on to sort out the garden. He's a good bloke, you'll like working for him. So you see, it won't make any difference to you. You still have the job.”

Nadia wondered how a supposedly intelligent grown man could stand there and say something so stupid. It would make all the difference in the world. The urge to throw something at Jay—not the baby, obviously—was overwhelming.

“You don't seem very pleased,” said Jay.

Nadia's eyes began to prickle. Oh good grief,
please
don't say she was going to cry.

“It's just… you know, come as a bit of a shock.”

“You'll be fine.” Jay's voice was expressionless. “You have your life here with Laurie. There's no reason for you to want to move anywhere, but when it's—”

“I'm not with Laurie.” Nadia heard the words spilling out of her mouth. “We're not together anymore. He's gone to London.”

Should she be telling Jay this? Oh well, too late now. Anyway, it was the truth. Honesty was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it?

And it seemed to have worked for Miriam.

Jay's eyebrows lifted. “He's gone? Whose decision was that?”

Bloody cheek.

“Mine.” As she spoke, Nadia felt Daniel's tiny fist curl trustingly round her index finger, surely one of the world's all-time great feelings.

“But I thought… the two of you…”

“I should have done it weeks ago. I think Laurie guessed it would happen. If I'd really loved him, I wouldn't have messed him about for so long.”

“He's not the only one you messed about,” Jay pointed out.

Glancing down, Nadia saw Daniel's long sooty eyelashes drooping over his cheeks. He was no longer sucking from the bottle. Carefully, she lowered him onto the sofa and wedged him in with cushions, then almost at once regretted it. Daniel had been her shield. Now she no longer knew what to do with her hands.

“That plan went wrong then,” said Jay with a rueful smile. “The idea was to open the front door with Dan in my arms. He was meant to be happy and quiet, and you were going to be wildly impressed by my ability to cope, not to mention completely won over by how great we looked.”

Why? Why?

“But now you're moving to Manchester. How long's the house been on the market?”

“Couple of days. But there's been a lot of interest.”

He actually had the nerve to sound pleased. Nadia felt sick. She'd left it too late.

“I still don't see why you have to go.” Oh God, did that sound hopelessly weedy and pathetic?

He shrugged. “There's nothing to keep me in Bristol. Thought I'd give another city a try.”

A horrible thought struck Nadia. “Is Andrea going with you?”

“Oh, come on.” Jay gave her a be-serious look. “I haven't seen Andrea for weeks. There's only one person I'm interested in. Sadly, she's spent the last few months completely buggering me about.”

Nadia couldn't speak. Did he mean her? What if he didn't? If she assumed he meant her and he was actually talking about some other girl, she was going to look
such
a wally.

“What's wrong with your hands?” said Jay.

“Nothing. I don't know.” Helplessly, Nadia flapped her huge, out-of-control hands. “I don't know where to put them.”

Oops.

Jay's mouth twitched. “I could always take the house off the market, you know. I don't have to leave Bristol.”

On the sofa, romantically, Daniel chose this moment to emit a peaceful baby fart in his sleep.

Nadia spluttered with laughter. “Sorry. Are you serious?”

“Well, I'm trying.” Jay moved toward her, causing her heart to break into a canter. “Look, I'm not used to saying stuff like this. Dammit, I'm not used to being in a situation like this, but you must know how I feel about you.”

Thank you, God, thank you, thank you…

“I may need another clue,” Nadia murmured, and Jay smiled.

Then he kissed her.

Oh yes, definitely worth waiting for. As the fireworks went off and her body swam with joy, Nadia realized that this was what had been missing with Laurie.

Kissing Jay just felt so completely and utterly
right
.

And OK, so maybe there were no money-back guarantees, but that was the difference between men and microwave ovens. Sometimes you just had to live with one and hope for the best.

“You,” said Jay, “have been nothing but trouble.”

“But now I've turned over a new leaf.” Nadia trembled as his mouth slid down to her neck. Jay's hands were warm round her midriff where her shirt had ridden up. As it rode up a little further—not quite of its own accord—she murmured, “Promise you'll take this place off the market.”

“I will.”

“And don't sell Highcliffe House to that other chap.”

“Whatever you say,” said Jay.

“That's my bra you're undoing.”

“God, is it? Sorry, I'm such an amateur.”

Struggling to maintain some kind of control, Nadia panted, “We can't do this now. What about Daniel?”

“He's asleep. This is what baby-sitters get up to when their charges are out for the count.” Smiling, Jay murmured, “Didn't you know that? It's practically the law.”

“Oh yes, I remember now. Silly me.”

Rrrrrinnggg.

“Hell, who's
that
?” Jay turned in dismay as the doorbell shrilled.

Loudly.

On the sofa, Daniel's dark eyes snapped open in alarm. Jerked from sleep, he let out a bellow of outrage and punched the cushions with his tiny fists, demanding to be picked up.

“After all these months, you'd think I'd have been due some good luck.” Shaking his head, Jay said resignedly, “But no, the moment anything
remotely
promising threatens to happen, some inconsiderate bastard pitches up and starts ringing my doorbell. You know, at this rate we could both be bloody pensioners before—”

“Shouldn't you answer the door?” said Nadia as the shrilling rang out again.

“You'd better do it.” Indicating the front of his jeans, Jay said ruefully, “I'm not quite respectable just now. Give me a minute to recover.”

Leaving him to scoop up his furiously yelling nephew, Nadia made her way through to the hall. Opening the front door, she was confronted by an irate middle-aged man.

“Is Jay there?”

“Well, he's a bit… um, busy at the moment.” Backed up by the ear-splitting wails coming from the living room and simultaneously wondering if she'd ever been happier in her life, Nadia said brightly, “Can I help you?”

“Maurice MacIntyre. I live across the road. My house went on the market yesterday.”

“Gosh, what a coincidence.” Nadia guessed he was bursting to compare asking prices. She gave him an encouraging smile. “And?”

Maurice MacIntyre gave her an odd look, clearly thinking she was mad.

“Look, I don't know what Jay thinks he's playing at. But I'd like my For Sale sign back.”

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From Sourcebooks Landmark

“OK, we can see it from here.” Lara Carson pulled up at the side of the road, buzzed down the window and pointed into the valley below. “See the L-shaped house with the white gates and the green car outside? That's the one.”

Home sweet home. Or maybe not. Eighteen years had passed since she'd last set foot over the threshold. Who knew what it was like inside now?

Gigi was leaning across from the passenger seat, breathing minty chewing-gum fumes over her as she peered down at the house. “Does it feel funny, seeing it again?”

“No.” That wasn't true. “A bit.” Lara gave her daughter's hand a squeeze.

“Are you going to cry?”

“What am I, some sort of
girl
? I'm definitely not going to cry.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds, looking at the old house with its ivy-strewn walls, blue-painted window frames and neatly tended garden. “OK, come on then,” Gigi said at last. “It's nearly time. You don't want to be late for your own father's funeral.”

***

Lara was one of the last into the church. It felt like being in a film. Her high heels click-clacked across the gray flagstones and people swivelled round to see who was making all the racket. Of the seventy or eighty mourners, most were strangers and didn't recognize her, which suited Lara just fine. But there were a few who clearly did. Eyebrows were raised and elbows nudged. She made a point of steadily meeting their gaze before looking away and slipping into an empty pew at the back.

What a weird situation to be in. People were spreading the word about her now; she could practically feel the mini Mexican wave of whispers rolling forwards. Finally it reached Janice in the front pew, flanked by her sisters and wearing an extraordinary feathered black hat. Together the three of them stiffened then turned their frosty glares upon her. With the feathers waving around her head, Janice resembled an angry crow with an acute case of bed hair.

Was it very wrong to think ill of the grieving widow during her husband's funeral? Obviously it was, but where Janice was concerned, it wasn't easy to think of anything nice.

The organ music started, everyone rose to their feet and the coffin was brought in.

Lara watched it being carried past her pew. The weirdness intensified. Charles Carson, her actual father, was inside that coffin.

He was dead.

And she genuinely didn't feel a thing.

***

Outside the church, Evie waited for the service to end. It was a long shot, but she hadn't been able to help herself. The moment she'd seen the notice in the local paper announcing the death of Charles Carson and the date of his funeral, she'd booked the time off work. The chances of Lara turning up at the funeral might be slim, but it could just happen. And if it did, Evie wasn't going to miss her.

They'd been best friends once. There were so many unanswered questions. Coming here today was an opportunity she simply couldn't pass up.

Not long now before the service was over. From this distance Evie heard the organ cranking up again, launching ponderously into “Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer.” It was hot out here; the sun was blazing down and her hair was sticking to the back of her neck. Pushing open the car door for extra ventilation, she swivelled sideways and swung her legs out, then tipped her left hand from side to side to admire the way the emeralds and diamonds flashed in the sunlight. Was Lara inside the church? Would she be seeing her again for the first time in eighteen years?

Oh well, soon find out.

***

The funeral ended. The genial vicar made the announcement that refreshments were available at Charles and Janice's home, and that everyone would be welcome back there, but Lara guessed she probably wasn't included in the invitation.

Luckily she didn't want to go anyway.

From her pew at the back, she watched Janice and her sisters lead the exit from the church. As they came down the aisle, the looks they gave her pretty much confirmed her suspicions. The black feathers shuddered with outrage and three sets of pale eyes ringed with black make-up bored through her. Since now wasn't the time for a confrontation, Lara averted her gaze and waited for the malevolent trio to pass.

The church emptied. She sat and waited a few minutes longer for the mourners to disperse. Soon came the sound of cars being started up and driven off. Finally, when all was quiet again, Lara rose and headed outside into the welcome heat and sunlight of a glorious summer's day.

Everyone had left, apart from a lone figure at the bottom of the driveway. Someone was sitting on the wall next to the open gates; someone with red hair, wearing a cobalt blue shirt and a white skirt. Which in turn meant she was likely to have moss and lichen stains on the back of it.

Lara attempted to focus but the distance was too great and her superpowers weren't that strong. She hadn't thought to bring her binoculars with her.

But… there was something familiar about the figure that was causing prickles of recognition down her spine. It couldn't be, could it…?

Her pace quickened and the distance between them was reduced. The redhead slid down from the dry stone wall and began to move toward her. Moments later they both stretched their arms wide and broke into a run. It was like one of those slow motion Hollywood sequences that more traditionally featured two members of the opposite sex.

“It
is
you,” shouted Lara.

“I
know
.” Evie beamed as they collided and hugged each other until they were both panting for breath. “Oh my God, I can't believe it, you're really
here
.” She pulled back to study Lara's face. “Your dad… I'm sorry… are you upset?”

“No, no.” Vigorously Lara shook her head. “Don't worry, you don't have to be polite. I only came back because of the solicitor. He phoned and said I needed to get myself down here. Anyway, let's not talk about that now.” She was so thrilled to see Evie she was burbling uncontrollably. “How are you? You look fantastic! Oh, I've missed you so much. You have to tell me everything!”

It was true, she had missed her oldest friend more than words could say. But at the time she'd known it was the only way. And look at Evie now, eighteen years older and obviously looking older… but at the same time miraculously unchanged. Teasingly, she turned Evie sideways and peered at the back of her white skirt. Thirty-four years old and she still hadn't learned how to keep herself stain-free. “You've got dirt on your skirt.”

“Have I? Oh no! How did that happen?” As she always had, Evie seemed genuinely surprised. For a couple of seconds she slapped ineffectually in the general area of her rounded bottom before giving up. “Oh well, never mind, you're
here
. This is so brilliant! I'd almost given up hope, then I heard someone say on their way out, ‘Was that her? Was that the daughter who ran away?' So I knew you were in there. Everyone's gone back to the house for drinks. Is that where you're going now?”

“Urgh, no way.” Lara checked her watch; almost two o'clock. “I'm meeting the solicitor in his office at three thirty. But I'm free till then. Do you have to be somewhere or can I buy you lunch?”

***

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting at a pavement café by the abbey, drinking Prosecco and catching up. Having spotted the emerald engagement ring, Lara now heard all about Joel and the imminent wedding. Less than six weeks from now, Evie was set to become Mrs. Barber. Joel was the one she'd waited so long for, and she'd never been happier in her life.

By unspoken mutual consent they'd covered Evie's story first, getting it out of the way. Then it was Lara's turn. Evie said, “Tell me what happened,” and Lara took a deep swallow of fizzy, ice-cold wine.

“The people at the church, you said they called me the one who ran away. Is that what everyone thought?” She placed the glass carefully in the center of the table. “I didn't run away. They kicked me out.”

“I called round to your house to see where you were,” said Evie. “Your dad answered the door. He just said you'd gone and wouldn't be coming back. Then Janice appeared next to him and you should have seen the look on
her
face. Like she'd finally got what she'd always wanted. Which I suppose she had. But I'm telling you, it gave me the shivers. I was so worried… you could have been
murdered
.”

“I was late home,” said Lara. “I had to be back by eleven o'clock and I missed the last bus. By the time I got home it was almost half past. That was when it all kicked off.” She didn't go into detail; this wasn't the time or the place. “It was the biggest row we'd ever had. Janice called me some vile names and told me she wished I'd never been born. Dad said I was ruining his life and he'd had enough, he wasn't going to put up with it anymore. He gave me an hour to pack my things. Then he told me to get out.”

Evie was appalled. “How could he do that? You were sixteen!”

“Didn't matter.” Lara shrugged and emptied her glass. “He wasn't going to change his mind. On the bright side, looking back on it now, I'm glad it happened. Mind you, at the time it wasn't so great. I'd never been so scared in my life.”

“You should have come to our house!”

“I couldn't. It was three o'clock in the morning. And I was just desperate to get away. So that's what I did. I sat outside the train station for the rest of the night, then caught the first train out of Bath.”

“Where did you go?”

“I called my Aunt Nettie and asked if I could stay with her for a couple of days.” Lara broke into a smile at the thought. “That was it, basically. I turned up on her doorstep in Keswick and that's where I've been ever since.”

“Keswick? In Cumbria? We had no idea,” said Evie. “None of us knew where you were. I kept waiting for you to call or write…”

“I know. I'm so sorry.” The guilt had haunted her all these years, but even now she wasn't able to tell Evie the rest of the story. “I just knew I'd never come back to Bath as long as my father was alive. It was easier to make a clean break.”

The food arrived, they talked and drank some more, then it was time for Lara to head off for her appointment with the solicitor in nearby Harington Place.

“And I have to get back to work.” Before they left, Evie took out her diary and said, “But we're not going to lose touch again. Give me everything you've got… address, email, phone numbers, I want the lot. And you have to have mine too.”

Once that was done, Lara walked back to Evie's car with her. They hugged each other again hard.

“You must come to the wedding,” Evie begged. “It'll be fantastic. You will, won't you? On the twelfth of August.” She squeezed Lara's hands. “Please say you'll be there!”